Mobile and connected devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, etc.), which provide Internet connectivity to device users on the move, are transforming patterns of social and business behavior. Consumers are increasingly integrating mobile behaviors into their lifestyles. There is a growing use of mobile applications, not merely mobile search browsers, for diverse purposes including receiving information and communications automatically.
A mobile application or service for mobile computing devices may, for example, automatically send or push “informative” notifications from multiple data sources (e.g., e-mail arrival notices, text messaging, advertisements, stock market data, etc.) to a mobile computing device user. In general, the push notifications (e.g., e-mail arrival notices) may be insensitive to an instantaneous or current location of the mobile computing device. However, a location-aware service may select and push notifications based on the current location of the mobile computing device. The location-aware service may, for example, push location-based notifications that inform the mobile computing device user of places of interest (e.g., restaurants, tourist attractions, hotels, bus routes, etc.) that are in the vicinity of the mobile computing device's current location. The location-based notifications may, for example, be displayed in an application (e.g., a map application) running on the mobile computing device or in a designated notification area (e.g., a system tray or taskbar) outside of any applications running on the mobile computing device.
When the mobile computing device user is traversing an area with a high density of places of interest (or rapidly passing by places of interest in the area), a large number of “informative” push notifications may appear together at about the same time on the mobile computing device. The large number of push notifications, which may take considerable time and effort to peruse, may overwhelm the user. The purpose of the notifications to inform the user will be defeated if the user is unable to meaningfully peruse the large number notifications.
Consideration is now being given to location-aware services for meaningfully informing mobile computing device users without overwhelming them.